Don "Monk" Meineke (October 30, 1930 – September 3, 2013) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. Meineke averaged 20.6 points as a junior for the

Dayton Flyers The Dayton Flyers are the intercollegiate athletic teams of the University of Dayton of Dayton, Ohio. All Flyers intercollegiate sports teams participate at the NCAA Division I level. The football team competes in the Division I FCS non-schola ...

, carrying the team to an NIT runner-up finish in 1951. He averaged 21.1 points per game as a senior and led the team to another second-place finish in the NIT in 1952. Meineke was an AP second-team All-American selection after his senior year. Meineke received the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

's first Rookie of the Year Award after the

1952–53 NBA season The 1952–53 NBA season was the seventh season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Minneapolis Lakers winning the NBA Championship, beating the New York Knicks 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals. Notable occurrences * ...

while playing for the

Fort Wayne Pistons A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

. Meineke led the league in personal fouls and disqualifications the same season. The 26 disqualifications he had in his first year is still the NBA single-season record. His 334 personal fouls in only 68 games gave him an average of more than 4.9 fouls per game. Meineke played for the

Rochester Royals The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

in the 1955–56 season, and after sitting out the 1956–57 season, rejoined the relocated

Cincinnati Royals The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

in 1957–58. Don Meineke was married to Mary Jane (Hautman) and had 4 children: Donald (Kara), Greg (Laura), Jeff, and Jennifer Meineke McLaughlin. He is also survived by 8 grandchildren: Jacqueline Meineke (Donald); Emily, Quinn, Jack, and Joe Meineke (Greg); and Jacob, Danielle, and Nicole (Jennifer)

NBA career statistics

Regular season

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" !Year !Team !GP !MPG !FG% !FT% !RPG !APG !PPG , - , style="text-align:left;" , 1952–53 , style="text-align:left;" , Fort Wayne , 68 , 33.1 , .381 , .783 , 6.9 , 2.2 , 10.7 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 1953–54 , style="text-align:left;" , Fort Wayne , 71 , 20.9 , .344 , .805 , 5.2 , 1.1 , 5.7 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 1954–55 , style="text-align:left;" , Fort Wayne , 68 , 15.1 , .372 , .700 , 3.6 , 0.9 , 5.8 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 1955–56 , style="text-align:left;" ,

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

, 69 , 18.1 , .372 , .700 , 3.6 , 1.5 , 7.1 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 1957–58 , style="text-align:left;" ,

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, 67 , 11.8 , .356 , .647 , 3.4 , 0.6 , 4.9 , - class="sortbottom" , colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" , Career , 343 , 19.8 , .367 , .756 , 4.7 , 1.3 , 6.8

Playoffs

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" !Year !Team !GP !MPG !FG% !FT% !RPG !APG !PPG , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

, style="text-align:left;" , Fort Wayne , 8 , 28.4 , .375 , .682 , 3.3 , 1.3 , 7.5 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 1954 , style="text-align:left;" , Fort Wayne , 4 , 21.8 , .261 , .636 , 3.8 , 1.5 , 4.8 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 1955 , style="text-align:left;" , Fort Wayne , 11 , 14.7 , .450 , .920 , 4.4 , 0.8 , 5.4 , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

, style="text-align:left;" ,

, 2 , 16.0 , .091 , .750 , 5.5 , 0.5 , 4.0 , - class="sortbottom" , colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" , Career , 25 , 20.3 , .351 , .750 , 4.0 , 1.0 , 5.8

References

External links

Where Are They Now- Don Meineke
@ nbrpa.com

at basketball-reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Meineke, Don 1930 births 2013 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Dayton, Ohio Centers (basketball) Cincinnati Royals players Dayton Flyers men's basketball players Fort Wayne Pistons draft picks Fort Wayne Pistons players Power forwards (basketball) Rochester Royals players